By Nicholas Jason Lopez “Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post. (Aired 3/7/17) Vices By Vipers – The opening video recapped the last month, aka Randy Orton’s “master plan” to sacrifice himself into The […]

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“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 2/27/17)

Honor Rising Night Two

– The KUSHIDA/David Finlay-Silas Young/Jado match began similarly to the previous night as Young did his “Why am I so disrespected?” schtick, though he at least acknowledged the language barrier. Did anybody still understand him? Doubt it. We got it though, Young. You’re cool peoples. Rocky Romero was back on commentary with Kevin Kelly for the night. They brought up the idea of this “Last Real Man” list from the heels, which was funny. A cheap shot from Young to start. Young taunted KUSHIDA and paid for it with a plancha. Jado took a boot to the face and powered through to not fall to the mat. Young broke out that nice sit-down springboard moonsault from the headstand position on the ring post. It should be noted that Finlay and Young had some great chemistry here. A singles match between them would kill. Eventually, Young hit Misery on Finlay to score the pin. Some more good stuff from Young, as we also liked that Kelly speculated that perhaps Young fits in that CHAOS mindset down the road. Solid opener to set the pace.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 2/26/17)

Honor Rising Night One

– The opening video was flashy as always, which actually showcased the spread of American culture in Japan, particularly the “This is awesome!” chant. This was Honor Rising, a two-night event that chronicled Ring Of Honor talent officially hitting the NJPW airwaves. We’d see the likes of Punisher Martinez, Delirious, Jay Lethal and “The Last Real Man” Silas Young in action. Also hyped was “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega, as he was back from his hiatus.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 2/22/17)

Man Up, Daniels

– The opening video focused on the Ring Of Honor Decade Of Excellence Tournament and its “eight pioneers” that fought it out to lead down to the two that were left – Jay Briscoe and Christopher Daniels. The main story was that they stood in each other’s way of a World Title shot. This was a great video intro, actually went the way of those classic “NBA On NBC” intros that Marv Albert used to do. You tell us that doesn’t work.

Check out the latest episode from our friends at Wrestle Talk Podcast With Joe & René, which features Special Guests Mike Outlaw (National Wrasslin’ League) and Sean Vincent.

Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Outlaw began his career coming up in the Dynamo Pro Dojo. Since then, he has competed for various North American promotions and over the course of four years, has wrestled many internationally recognized wrestlers upon the likes of “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin, Silas Young and Takaaki Watanabe.

Vincent, a veteran also known as “The Canadian Hero,” came from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He debuted in 2000 in Gateway Championship Wrestling, where he split his time between wrestling and officiating. This past May, he won Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling’s Bruiser Brody Memorial Battle Royale and currently serves as the promotion’s ambassador.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 2/15/17)

Boys Among Real Men

– Hangman Page came out, his return still fresh on everyone’s minds. His opponent was in the ring in the form of Matt Sells. What a jobber name that was. Mark Briscoe was also on commentary for what it was worth. Sells was apparently in his hometown and was greeted with a shove into the ring post. One Rite Of Passage later and it was over. Post-match, Page grabbed a noose and ROH World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks came down. Superkick party. They gestured to the stage and ROH World Champion Adam Cole/”The American Nightmare” Cody walked to the ring. Chants of “Cody”/”Welcome home” were rampant. Cody kissed the canvas and played the crowd for a too-sweet with the Champ. He got the streamer treatment and addressed the warm reception before he deceptively turned on the fans for being “11 years too late.” Great heel work as always. Crowd chanted “Dusty” at him. Cody called out Jay Lethal and referred to him as the “Doorman Of ROH.” Lethal stormed out and came onto the apron. Some taunts and saliva later, Lethal charged at Cody, which commenced a beatdown. Bobby Fish came out for the save, an apparent hype for the main event, where he/Lethal would team against Cole/Cody. More of the ROH Cavalry came down, aka Jay White/Alex Shelley/Lio Rush. Not such a bad lead-in to commercial. Apparently that tag main event was set for now. Fish weaved around Cody, but got caught flush with a superkick from Cole. The Cody/Cole dynamic was almost comparable to the now-defunct Jeri-KO. Wonder if that was on purpose. For the first time ever, a man was too-sweeted in the eyes, as Cody did it to Fish. Lethal/Cody were tagged in simultaneously and went at each other’s heads. Lethal Injection on Cole changed the momentum, but it was Cody who was legal. It came to a point where all four men were exhausted and traded forearms. Lethal hit the most underwhelming tope on Cody ever. It was almost like a light nudge. The big story laid in the finish, as Fish had Cole dead in the armbar. Cody was unable to get it broken up, so the Champ had no choice but to tap out. A smart decision, especially based on that they needed to build Fish up as a threat for that World Title shot he gets at Manhattan Mayhem on Mar. 4. Not the most enlightening of matches, but Cody was great here and Hangman does his Hangman thing.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 1/11/17)

Droned In

– Christopher Daniels’ hype video promo did a good job of showing his refocused goal of his “destiny to become Champion” in the midst of the Decade Of Excellence Tournament that he was a part of. He defeated Mark Briscoe last week to advance to the second round. He spoke about how he made a name for himself in 2002 and they wisely played back footage of those classic Murphy Rec Center days when he denied handshakes and broke the mold as the face of The Prophecy, despite never holding the ROH World Championship. They flashed back to now, to where he gives those handshakes and obeys the Code Of Honor, a presumed changed man. With this kind of package, we could tell this next push was set to be a serious one. It also helps to get more passionate promos like this one, because that’s what Daniels does best these days.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 12/7/16)

By Honor, For Honor

– If anybody hoped for meaningful post-Final Battle television, look elsewhere. However, since already here, why not stay awhile? We’ll keep you comfortable. Anyways, the Cheeseburger/Will Ferrara-Tempura Boyz match was throwaway material, but some decent action involved. Joey “Diesel” Daddiego (The House Of Truth’s former J. Diesel) was on commentary and put over Ferrara/Cheeseburger as hard workers in the dojo. Daddiego used to come off like a mini-Batista, but now that he talked, he was like a hybrid of Taz and Nunzio. At least Cheeseburger continues to grow in popularity. That shouldn’t be hard. The guy’s freakin’ name’s Cheeseburger. Fast-paced action as you’d expect. TB hit a nice codebreaker/German suplex combo before they won with a superkick/package piledriver combo on Cheeseburger. TB seem cool, though we still don’t know much about them besides their tasty name. Cheeseburgers and Tempura. Yummy. The post-match angle with Prince Nana and Donovan Dijak continued the inevitable Nana/Dijak split, as the manager demanded his client to “get this wet” and make easy work of Ferrara. Dijak showed brief hesitation before he picked Ferrara up and slammed him down twice. That prompted Daddiego to leave the booth and confront Dijak, as he challenged him to a match. Sure, why not?

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 11/23/16)

Nard And Feathered

– The Silas Young-Kyle O’Reilly match was a good time for both to face each other as Final Battle looms. O’Reilly was penciled in as the definite challenger for whomever was ROH World Champion by then, given the winner between ROH World Champion Adam Cole and Jay Lethal. We also appreciated the effort to put Young over as someone in primed position to one day be atop the card, evidenced by how close he came to beating Cole on Sep. 22 for the Title. Sort of a slow bout to start, with basic chain/technical wrestling with a couple of standoffs. Expected in the “feeling out” process. Young got some momentum as he threw O’Reilly aggressively into the barricades. O’Reilly was put over by commentary for his keen predator-esque mindset that focused on the target of different body parts in a match. They traded stiff forearms as Cole came down to join commentary to badmouth Cole as a coward. Young kicked out of a power maneuver, which prompted O’Reilly to lock in his armbar. Young escaped and nearly hit Misery, but ended up in the Brainbuster to lose the match. A fine match with an added emphasis to showcase Young’s toughness (he didn’t tap out) and keep O’Reilly hot. Young’s post-match promo used his great ability to pick on the fans as a device to hype his FB encounter with Jushin “Thunder” Liger. A fan in a Liger outfit made it all possible. That said, we would’ve had a mention of the Young-Liger match much sooner than after this bout.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 10/19/16)

A Vow For Control

– The opening video logically showed highlights of Ring Of Honor’s biggest occurrence in the year’s second half – Ladder War VI from All Star Extravaganza, as The Young Bucks overcame The Addiction and The Motor City Machine Guns to become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions.